Busway electrical distribution systems are well known in the art of electrical distribution. Busway systems are comprised of a number of factory assembled sections each including a number of individually insulated generally flat electrical conductors or busbars stacked one upon another and enclosed within a housing which provides protection and support for the busbars. The busway sections include one or more plug-in openings having a plurality of conductive stabs. In general, the plug-in openings are openings provided through the housing of the busway system at each of a plurality of power tap-off sections to expose conductive material of the busbars for connection with an appropriate connecting jaw. A plug-in unit, which is used to tap off power from the busway, is attached to the plug-in opening by mounting a plurality of jaws to a corresponding stab.
To comply with Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (“UL”) requirements, uninsulated stabs must be separated by at least 2 inches at a base of the stab to achieve a required over-surface clearance. Similarly, uninsulated stabs must be separated by at least 1 inch at a tip of the stab to achieve a required over-air clearance.
Some current busbars are required to include insulated stabs because the respective configurations cannot meet the UL requirement of providing a 2-inch over-surface clearance or a 1-inch over-air clearance. To provide proper insulation, an epoxy coating is generally applied on all surfaces of the bars. However, epoxy insulation is labor intensive, time consuming, and expensive. Furthermore, epoxy insulation may have cracks and uneven thickness around corners and bends.
What is needed, therefore, is a stab configuration for a busway that addresses the above-stated and other problems.